Thompson’s Challenge, Rally Bobcat Ignites Bears in Crucial Bounce-Back Series Win
Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson challenged his squad after their 13-1 demoralizing series-opening defeat to Utah on Thursday night, saying, "We're better than this, and it's time for us to be good."
Backed into a corner after losing six of their last nine games, the Bears arrived at the ballpark on Friday looking to regain their mojo from the first half of the season where they jumped out to a 20-8 start, which included winning a road series over No. 23 Arizona and going toe-to-toe with No. 8 Oregon State and No. 25 Auburn.
To open the contest, freshman lefty Carson Bailey retired the top of Utah's lineup — Austen Roellig (Fr.), Core Jackson (Sr.) and Tyler Quinn (RSr.) — in order, highlighted by a strikeout of Jackson, a projected top-round MLB Draft pick, on a nasty slider.
In the series opener, the trio combined to go 10-for-15 at the plate with six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs, but were limited to one base knock with Bailey on the bump.
In the bottom of the first, redshirt senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca struck a single up the middle to lead off the frame, and senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp followed that up with a towering two-run homer over the right-center field wall.
On the heels of Thursday night's disaster, a collective sigh of relief was felt inside the dugout and throughout the ballpark after the quick start.
"Here's what was really big right off the bat — their lineup is really good, especially at the top," Thompson said of the Utes. "Those guys take really professional at-bats. In that first inning of the game, we show up and we've got 13-1 on our mind."
He continued, "You say you're not paying any attention to it, but if it goes bad in that first inning, it's hard not to immediately go back to that and start feeling bad thoughts. The first thing that happened was Carson went out there and had a really good first inning against their best hitters, and we followed that up with hit after hit after hit after hit."
The Utes punched back in the fourth inning, tying the game on a three-run homer from senior left fielder Drake Digiorno and putting a blemish on Bailey's otherwise terrific outing that featured four punchouts across six frames.
Knotted up at three apiece in the eighth inning and facing a 3-1 count, Kemp put a charge into a high fastball and went yard again, sending the dugout into a frenzy and ultimately sealing Baylor's 4-3 win with the solo shot.
The Netherlands native finished the contest 4-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and was a double shy of the cycle; it was the first multi-homer game of his career.
"I've never had a game like that in my life, and I'm happy it happened today and I'm happy with the W," Kemp said following his fantastic performance. "Bouncing back was our biggest thing. Sometimes we get punched in the mouth. It's been hard for us to respond, and today, we definitely did."
The momentum from Friday carried into Saturday's contest, in which the Bears picked up a series win after shutting out the Utes, 9-0. Redshirt sophomore second baseman Travis Sanders homered twice, and Baylor's pitching staff — Mason Green (So.), Bryson Bales (6Sr.), Grayson Murry (Jr.) and Will Glatch (Sr.) — combined to carry a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
"I'll just tell you that I think those were the two best games back-to-back that we've played all year," Thompson said post-game. "The only other time that would rival that would be at Arizona several weeks ago, but those were two complete games where we pitched it, played defense and swung the bats. We competed well up and down the lineup. It feels great because on Thursday, we got punched in the mouth. Seeing the guys respond the way they did the last two days says a lot about their character and commitment."
Sanders and Kemp have been red-hot at the plate in April and are inside the top 12 in the conference in batting average during Big 12 play.
Across his last seven games, Sanders is 13-for-26 with eight RBIs and six extra-base hits, while Kemp boasts a team-high 15-game hitting streak and went 6-for-10 with five RBIs on the weekend.
Kemp also displayed excellent defense versus the Utes, including an acrobatic Derek Jeter-esque play in the series finale.
"It's amazing watching him play defense," redshirt senior first baseman Will Pendergrass said of Kemp. "We see that every single day in practice, so it's cool that y'all get to see that in a game."
Green made his third start on the mound after missing the first half of the spring with an injury, and Bales was the first player out of the bullpen to relieve Green. The duo had arguably their best games of the season, combining for 6.2 scoreless frames without allowing a base knock.
"Mason was probably our top pitcher all fall. Not to have him for the first part of the year, and now, we're trying to grow him up and build him back up to where he can do it. To see him go out there for 40 pitches was great," Thompson said. "It was obviously his best outing, and it was Bales's best outing too. That's encouraging. If we can get Bales going and get Green going, we're a lot better and deeper, deeper, deeper. That was a really nice step in that direction."
In addition to Thompson "lighting a fire" under his team, the Bears attribute the success from the last two games to a rally bobcat that appeared in the team's locker room on Friday morning, courtesy of sophomore catcher Brayden Buchanan and redshirt freshman first baseman John Youens.
While the taxidermied bobcat doesn't have a name yet, it's been used as a good luck charm by everyone on the roster and appears to be a dugout mainstay for the rest of the season.
"It gave the dugout a lot of energy, actually. Every time I went up to the plate, I had to touch it. I guess I have to keep doing that the whole season," Kemp said jokingly.
Green added, "We were like, 'Alright. Let's do something with this.' It's here to stay, and of course, I touched it."
Thompson has no problem with the rally bobcat, noting, "I'm okay with anything. If the bobcat is the lucky charm, I'm all in on the bobcat."
Another storyline from the weekend was Pendergrass being inserted back into the lineup in place of a struggling Jack Little (RSo.). Little is hitting .193 in conference play with 25 strikeouts and is 3-for-24 across his last seven Big 12 contests.
Pendergrass opened the season 1-for-18 at the plate and hadn't started since Feb. 25 before getting the nod on Friday, where he went 1-for-3 with a double and made a handful of fantastic defensive plays. In the series finale, the veteran first baseman stayed hot and broke the game open in the fourth inning with a grand slam for his first home run of the year.
"It felt really good; I kind of blacked out in the moment," Pendergrass said of his grand slam. "It's been a while, and I just had to stay ready for my moment. … I've been through two season-ending injuries here and got off to a really slow start this year. I'm really good friends with Cole Posey, and we talk. Last year, he started exactly 1-for-18, so he's been a guy that will shoot me a text here and there. He's been in my corner and helped me get through that start."
Thompson added, "I'm really proud of Will Pendergrass. To be a starter for us last year and kinda be relegated to a bench role and continue to be such a great teammate, and keep working and keep his mouth shut, and be ready for his moment. Some of the defensive plays he made last night, the double, the single and the grand slam today. It's fun to see guys do things the right way and get rewarded, and he definitely did. He stepped up big for us."
Despite the disastrous two-week stretch that saw the Bears lose a series to Houston and Texas Tech and fall 6-2 to Texas State in a midweek matchup after previously beating the Bobcats 19-3 earlier in the spring, Baylor's postseason hopes are narrow, yet still alive after the series win over Utah.
The Bears' RPI has fallen roughly 40 spots into the mid-70s, but they will have opportunities over the regular season's final month to climb back onto the right side of the bubble, starting with a series in Fort Worth next weekend against No. 25 TCU.
This team has the talent to get things back on the right track. Time will tell, however, if the last two games have given Baylor its mojo back or whether it's an anomaly.
"We're capable of being really good," Thompson said on Saturday. "We have plenty of arms, and we're capable of being really good on the mound. We're capable of being really good up and down that lineup. It was good to get guys to go, 'No more. It's time. Let's go.' To see them respond was fun."
Pendergrass added, "Really, it's a trust and confidence thing in everybody's ability. We lost it for a little bit after coming out of the gate hot this season. We have the talent in the room, we just have to have the confidence to put it together."
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